A great white shark is believed to be hunting seals of the coast of Washington state.
Half of a dead female 200 pound seal washed up on Ocean Shores beach February 19th.
The body was sent for a necropsy by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shark expert in California.
Related: Great White shark caught in Panama City Beach Florida
Fish and Wildlife coastal shellfish manager Dan Ayres said:
“Our folks have confirmed that it was likely preyed on by a great white shark, and this isn’t terribly unusual off our coast. A (necropsy) confirmed it was taken right off the surf line by a great white shark, and that the seal had been feeding on smelt.”
The stomach contents indicate the seal was killed close to shore.
Spokesman Craig Bartlett indicated the likely predator was a great white shark and based on the spacing of the bite mark, the shark would be around 18-feet long.
There have only been two confirmed shark bites in Washington’s history, that of a surfer in April of 1989 and another one in the 1830s.
The spot has been updated on the 2015 shark bites attacks tracking map under interactions.
